How did trade affect the spread of religion during the Middle Ages?

During the Middle Ages, the trade was becoming bigger and bigger, and more and more regions started to be in constant contact. Europe, Africa, and Asia were becoming more and more connected. Because of the constant communication, lot of things were shared, and the people were getting exposed to lot of new things to them, ideas, technology, culture, religion etc. Certain religions were seen very fondly by some people, so over time they started to accept some of them. The Christianity and the Islam were the biggest winners, as they were spreading out in numerous regions, thus gaining more and more followers, which was also giving the religious authorities more and more power.